The Myth Of “Busi-ness” | 128

 

Have you ever noticed that being “busy” is a virtue, especially in our business culture?

Are you being too “busy?”

Today, our host, Chris Miles, will teach you his big “ah-ha’s” that got him from being “busy” to working 5-10 hours per week, making more money than when he was working 50+ hours per week. Tune in now!

Chris Miles Bio:

Chris Miles, the “Cash Flow Expert,” is a leading authority on how to quickly free up and create cash flow for thousands of his clients, entrepreneurs, and others internationally! He’s an author, speaker, and radio host featured in US News, CNN Money, Bankrate, and Entrepreneur on Fire, and he has spoken to thousands getting them fast financial results.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

The Myth Of “Busi-ness”

I want to congratulate you once again for reading. I’m so excited that we are well beyond episode 100. I’m excited about the direction that we’re moving, and the fact that there are so many more of you every week, following, listening, and learning. I appreciate the feedback you’re giving. By all means, check out our website, MoneyRipples.com. There are some blogs on there and great stuff that can help you out. Event-wise, I’m not going to be doing an event until 2023. Hang tight. Maybe by mid-March 2023, I’ll be doing another event. Look for that as well.

I want to do a few different episodes, but this one keeps coming up because I see it in my News Feed on Facebook and from people that I respect a lot. I want to bash it. Not necessarily bash the person but hit this myth. This is something big that I’ve seen happen so much. I figured it’s good to expound upon it because there needs to be a change.

Like with money, I refer to myself often as being an anti-financial advisor because I’m teaching people against it. Even my clients have a hard time trying to call me a financial advisor because they don’t want people to think I do what financial advisors do all the time, which is typically selling your products. I usually do the opposite instead. Even though we talk about all those things, I’m talking about how we create cashflow now. How do we get your money working for you so you’re not always working for money and things like that?

I’m against the grain. I realized this first in 2006 when I first retired. It’s interesting because when I got to that place, it was such a weird place to be. I didn’t expect it to happen that easily but what had happened and changed was my mindset about how I saw time and money. Your relationship with time and money must change.

There’s a myth out there that believes that somehow you’ve got to be busy. You’ve got to be going after your dreams and going hard 24/7. You’ve got to work for 60 to 80 hours a week if you’re in business and things like that. I’m not saying that when you first build a business, it doesn’t take a lot of work, time, and effort sometimes. I’ve noticed that many people are even successful given the habit of being busy. They feel like they’ve got to be working lots and lots of hours.

A few things will happen. One, it appears they do this at the sacrifice of their life, so they lose lifestyle a little bit. They get some cool things and they’ll post on Facebook, but in reality, they’re burning out. That’s what usually happens. These people will burn out. They’ll run hard, want to take a break hard and come to a screeching halt. It’s hard to do that. This is like when I’ve run a marathon. If you read one of my previous episodes about life lessons I’ve learned from running a marathon and what they can apply to business, it’s the same thing. If you go running full out and full speed ahead, you’re going to start cramping up when it’s most critical.

The same thing happens in business. It’s not that you can’t go after or be passionate, but you’ve got to stop thinking that you’ve got to work your tail off for years, and then somehow you’ll be able to take a break. It doesn’t work that well. Fortunately for me, I realized this not just in 2006, but I started going down this path of thinking that we had to be busy. I was working even a few years ago, probably 40 to 50 hours a week, getting Money Ripples going. I realized that a lot of that stuff was extra filler staff. I was trying to make my business more complex than it was. I wonder how many other people are like that too, where their business doesn’t have to be that complex.

Don't be busy. Be productive. Click To Tweet

I still believe that I am the abundant equivalent of a Dave Ramsey for people that are business owners or investors. Most people that are business owners or investors cannot follow that advice. It’s too scarcity-minded and limiting. You can’t create financial freedom from that standpoint. I still have that passion. I still want to be that voice, but I’m not stressing over it anymore.

I used to be so stressed about trying to be that voice and be that guy that whenever business owners thought of a financial advisor, they would think of me. I started to realize that was fine at all, but once I started doing what I felt natural was right for me, going in my lane and doing my thing, it’s funny how those opportunities show up like how my audience here is growing. It’s not because I’m spending thousands of dollars on this show or on Facebook ads and everything else to try to get my name out there. All I’m doing is simply trying to add value to your life, create value, serve and do a lot of stuff here. I had to realize that there are activities that I’m doing that are productive and aren’t productive.

After going through a divorce in 2021, I had to narrow and pare it down. It got me back in that mindset again, “How do I get back to that four-hour type of work week that I had before in 2006?” That’s where you’ve got to look for other streams of income and ways to do that in your business that’s leveraged. It could be in your business. The thing is if you’re in business already and you’re a business owner, great. You have one of the easiest ways to create income streams without having to work hard, presuming you set up your business and structure it correctly. If you set it up right, you can do it that way. There’s also the flip side. If you’re not a business owner, there are ways to do it. It usually takes money to make money or some other intellectual property or capital.

I’ll probably mention in another episode ways to create additional income streams and other things that can do that because there are ways to create income through your business and intellectual property, whether that’s through your business or something else. You can make money online, through investments, and in so many different places that are so much better.

You’ve got to get out of this mind of busi-ness. Business does not equate to busi-ness and busi-ness doesn’t necessarily create a business. Sometimes in the business, you can be busy, but being busy does not necessarily mean that you have a great thriving business. I’ve seen somebody who is trying to push for multiple seven figures in their business. Their business has grown, but they’re burned out. I’ve watched them age in a year.

I’ve aged from stress before too for different stressors, but they are aging because of their business. They’re pushing so hard and almost forcing it. Whenever you try to force something, you’ve got to work extra hard, multiple times harder than you do if you do it naturally. You’ve got to do what’s natural to you. Many of you see people out there who look like they’re getting after it.

You might even look at me and think I’m out there and all over the place. I get that all the time. People are like, “You’re everywhere.” The truth is, most of the time, I’m in my pajama pants and a t-shirt, workout pants, shorts, or something like that. That’s the beautiful thing about doing shows. You might think I’m in a nice dress shirt. Occasionally, I do, but the truth is I do this when I feel inspired, and it feels right. That’s the key too.

 

For me, the things I had to knock out were extra busi-ness that wasn’t necessarily productive. A big one was networking groups. I was a part of several networking groups. Even if they might have been once a week or once a month, it adds up and you start throwing a travel time and trying to do things that way. I’m all about networking. You know that. I’m all about relationships. If you’ve read this show, relationships are essential for success, but there are many ways you can create that from home. You can do that from your phone, the internet over Skype, or whatever it may be.

I’m creating some amazing relationships, and we’ve never met each other face-to-face. Someone we met face-to-face is in another state, but it’s not like we have to get together belly-to-belly all the time. There are ways to connect and create with people. I’m still all about being face-to-face with people. However, I will tell you that if you believe that’s your limitation, that you have to get out of the house, and I used to hear people say all the time a few years ago, “Put yourself and get yourself out there,” if you’re saying that phrase, you probably will never see it.

You’re assuming that you have to go to networking groups because you have to get yourself and put yourself out there. That’s not the reason. You can get yourself out there in so many ways. People can get to know you without you having to be out there. I’m not saying don’t do any networking. Don’t take this to the extreme. What I’m saying is to limit it to the most productive activities.

If the networking group has given you good leads, the people that you want to serve and you know whom you want to serve and they’re giving you good leads, then great. Do that. That’s a big thing. Somebody asked the other day, “I’m looking for speaking engagements. What do you recommend? Whom do I talk to?” “Who’s your avatar? Who’s your target market? Whom are you talking to? That’s key.”

If you don’t know that, then you’re going to be guessing. It means throwing things out everywhere like throwing spaghetti on a wall hoping that you throw darts randomly and it might hit a bullseye. You don’t want to do that. You don’t want to be so haphazard that way but instead, look at, “Whom am I serving? Is this productive?” I had to keep doing that.

When I started to focus on whom I was serving, I realized that there are a lot of groups that I love, but they’re not the people that I need to be spending a lot of time going to meet, serve, and everything else. When you broadcast out that message, I believe we all have energy. We all have this message that we’re broadcasting, whether it’s abundance or scarcity. Whether we want pain or pleasure, happiness or sadness, we broadcast things. If you’re broadcasting and tuning in the person that you’re serving, you’ll find out so much better.

Some aren’t, but most people I get are in business. A lot of them feel like they’re making good money but still working their tail off for it. I don’t like that. I like it even lately. I’ve been attracting people that haven’t been. They still work hard but make great money. They start to realize, “This is good, but I’m going to go to the next phase. I need to manage my money. Everything is up-leveling in my life. I need to up-level my team, my money, and everything.”

Business does not equate to busy-ness, and busy-ness doesn't necessarily create business. Click To Tweet

That’s cool and exciting to see that you tend to broadcast who you are and you attract who you are. Be careful. Watch for that. Watch whom you’re talking to. I used to talk to so many groups that people were confused. They would come to me and then I realized, “You’re not a great fit. Why are these people keep calling me that isn’t a great fit?” It’s because I was broadcasting and I wanted to serve everyone.

A mentor told me this in a mastermind group I went to once. He said, “Chris, who can you serve? How many people can you serve? Can you serve everybody?” I said, “I don’t know what you mean by that.” He said, “Can your information help everyone?” I said, “Yes, of course.” He was like, “Chris, can you help everyone?” “No, I don’t have the capacity myself to do that. Even if I hire a team, I’m still limited by that team.” He said, “Exactly. Chris, even though you know you can help everybody, whom do you want to help and serve?”

That’s the first thing you need to understand. Get clarity on whom you’re serving and those that you want to be around that you know you can help best. The reason that my average numbers are going up is that I’m honing in on the people that get the biggest results in my program. One thing I tell people all the time is, “If you do my program, I don’t want to let you in unless I know I can make your money back within that year. If not, then we have to work out something else or have you do some other program.”

There have been people that are like, “I can’t honestly justify this tuition for you to be able to do my program. However, you can do this and I know you’ll make that money back.” That’s for my integrity’s sake. That’s what I want. I want to have a good, clear conscious when I work with people. It’s funny. I had an email come the other day from somebody that says, “You’re full of BS. I know you.”

This person was anonymous. They used a fake email address and stuff. They weren’t anybody I knew. They even signed off their name and said, “Somebody who used to work with you. You’re full of BS. I feel sorry for the people that listen to your stuff. You didn’t retire. You’re in debt and everything else.” I’m like, “1) I did have the ability to retire. 2) I did go in that hole and it was dang hard, but that’s also how I created the whole cashflow problem. I’m very open about that. With that, people have saved millions of dollars. I practice what I preach. Some of the things you’ve accused me of are not even true. If you had worked with me and you didn’t know who I was, you know that the things you say weren’t true. Thanks. You made me more convinced of how awesome what I teach and do is.”

The people I’ve been serving and helping, if they take the advice I do, they get the results. That’s because I focus on the people that I know I could help best. You wrap your mind around those people and then go and serve them. It’s amazing how you’ll find those people easier. They’ll come out of nowhere. I’ve had several of you approach me from the show saying, “Chris, I need you and this stuff. I need to know what you know. I need the cashflow stuff and figure out how to get my money making money for me so I can have additional cashflow income streams and things like that.”

You keep popping up everywhere. It’s not like this show is the number one show of all time. It’s not like I’m Pat Flynn or something like that. I wouldn’t mind getting there, but I’m happy creating value and serving whoever is reading now. The thing is the people that I serve best keep coming and showing up. My business has been the best, but I’m working fewer hours than I’ve worked for years. It’s awesome.

I even joked with my wife this week. These are probably the busier weeks because I had to do some certifications for my insurance licenses because I still hold an insurance license. I had to do the continuing education, which is 24 hours of education. I did it probably about 10 to 12. I joked to her, “I’m hitting like a 25-hour a week. This is exhausting that I had to work that much.”

It’s cool. I like the fact that I can work 5 to 10 hours a week legitimately because I’m focused on the activities at work and whom I’m serving. I do that. I say no to opportunities that don’t serve me. I say yes to the ones that do. I say yes much less than I say no. I say no a lot more than I say yes. The point is to know whom you’re serving and then focus your activities around that. Do what’s essential and productive. Be forward-thinking. Focus on your business and what can help you keep making money so you keep that pipeline coming with new customers and clients. Keep doing that. That’s awesome.

Most activities that I see people doing are a lot of busy work that don’t add to their bottom line. They don’t add money to their pocket and they don’t serve people. They’re always back at work. Sometimes they’re trying to create this massive backend to their business when it doesn’t need it. What the fact comes down to is that it’s about how you create value for people.

The backend systems need to be there to help serve people, but they may not have to be as complex as you think. You don’t have to create a massive corporation to do what you’re doing. Some of you might, but the majority of you don’t so focus on that. Focus on whom you’re serving and where you go about finding the right people and how you communicate that message to them. Talk to them. All wealth is created through conversations. That is key.

However you best talk to them, whether it’s through visual like video, audio like podcasts or audio type of programs, or written content. Whatever it is that you do best that people resonate with you and respond to most, do that. Hone in on that and do those kinds of activities. You’ll find that you won’t have to work nearly as hard and you can still make more money.

That’s my message to you this week. Focus on what works for you. Don’t be busy. Be productive. Those are not the same thing. Focus on being productive and stop being busy. Stop running with your head cut off. Focus on serving people. I’m telling you, do it the right way, and pretty soon people will be attracted to you because you’re not forcing it.

You’ll have a lifestyle and the hours that you want. You can work the lifestyle you want and have the life that you want. Despite what all the naysayers say, it’s possible. I’m here as living proof of that. No matter what obstacles come up, you can still create the life that you want. Make a great prosperous week. We will see you, guys.